Some of you might be wondering, “Why do you need $15,000? That seems like a lot to run a website.” Well, you would be right, $15k is a lot to ask, but here’s what $15k is for. For the past several years I’ve been paid a modest salary with our partner, Ratio Christi, with donations I’ve raised through the website going toward that salary. Now that I’ve made the difficult decision to leave RC, that salary will no longer be available to me. The $15k I hope to raise will sustain me financially for roughly six months, while I keep TPE going and seek more permanent funding. Running TPE is a full time job, and I’m working hard on making it even better with a complete redesign and reboot on another platform. The new site will be better than ever and more functional and accessible to everyone, which I hope will lead to expanding its reach. Can you please take a moment to visit my GiveSendGo campaign page (here) ? There you can read my short testimony and why I started TPE. While you’re there I hope you will prayerfully consider helping to keep the momentum of the campaign going by making a contribution of any amount.

Christians today are facing more challenges than ever. The Poached Egg exists to equip Christians to meet those challenges and be more confident in their faith and become more effective witnesses for Christ. If you find these articles and posts useful, please consider partnering with me in 2018 to continue this work that God has laid on my heart. As someone once said, the Gospel is free, but someone has to pay for the plumbing. You can become a monthly partner for just as little as $5 a month (that’s only $60 a year), the price of a gourmet cup of coffee. Special one time gifts are welcome and encouraged as well. Will you help?

Is Your Church Prepared to Make a Case for the Truth?
In Forensic Faith, J. Warner Wallace teaches us why it’s critically important to master the evidence for Christianity and communicate it to others. This curriculum kit – complete with DVD and participant’s guide – brings the case for Christianity to life as it prepares us to become better “Christian Case Makers”. Designed as a program for churches, small groups, and Sunday school classes, this is an engaging and highly informative way to prepare for the most important case of our lives. Learn how to investigate and communicate your faith like never before.

Christians today are facing more challenges than ever. The Poached Egg exists to equip Christians to meet those challenges and be more confident in their faith and become more effective witnesses for Christ. If you find these articles and posts useful, please consider partnering with me in 2018 to continue this work that God has laid on my heart. As someone once said, the Gospel is free, but someone has to pay for the plumbing. You can become a monthly partner for just as little as $5 a month (that’s only $60 a year), the price of a gourmet cup of coffee. Special one time gifts are welcome and encouraged as well. Will you help?

We should then plausibly view viruses as among the most information-rich natural systems in the known Universe (Fig. 4). Their size dictates they are very small targets minimizing the probability of destruction by flash heating or ionizing radiation, Hoyle and Wickramasinghe (1979) e.g. Chapter 1. Their nanometer dimensions plausibly allow easy transport and dispersal by micrometer sized dust grains and other protective physical matrices of similar size. They are then nanoparticle-sized genetic vectors which contain all the essential information to take over and drive the physiology of any given target cell within which they mesh. Their replicative growth means they are produced, and exist, in huge numbers on cosmic scales; so that they (and to a lesser quantitative extent their cellular reservoirs) can suffer huge losses by inactivation while still leaving a residue of millions of surviving particles potentially still infective. A virus then is a type of compressed module in touch with the whole of the cell’s very ability to grow and divide to produce progeny cells and thus to evolve.

Another way to say it would be that in all the acts of saving faith the Holy Spirit enables us not only to perceive and affirm factual truth, but also to apprehend and embrace spiritual beauty. It is the “embracing of spiritual beauty” that is the essential core of saving faith. And this embrace is what will shape our lives most deeply and receive the “well done” at the last day.

In a home for retarded children, Catherine was nurtured twenty years. The child had been [mentally handicapped] from the beginning, and had never spoken a word, but only vegetated. She either gazed quietly at the walls or made distorted movements. To eat, to drink, to sleep, were her whole life. She seemed not to participate at all in what happened around her. A leg had to be amputated. The staff wished Cathy well and hoped that the Lord would soon take her to Himself. One day the doctor called the director to come quickly. Catherine was dying. When both entered the room, they could not believe their senses. Catherine was singing Christian hymns she had heard and had picked up, just those suitable for death beds. She repeated over and over again the German song, “Where does the soul find its fatherland, its rest?” She sang for half an hour with transfigured face, then she passed away quietly. (Taken from The Best Is Still to Come, Wuppertal: Sonne und Shild)

But when applied to temptation, diabolical “Impressionism” becomes powerful and terrible. The devil doesn’t employ realism when painting a temptation “because there is no truth in him” (John 8:44). His goal is to use the spiritual equivalents of color, lighting, and less defined lines to evoke certain sinful emotional sensations. The power is in the momentary emotional impression it makes on the “viewer.” The devil doesn’t want us to see the real thing; he just wants us to experience a rather vague impression that yielding to the temptation will bring happiness.

Christians today are facing more challenges than ever. The Poached Egg exists to equip Christians to meet those challenges and be more confident in their faith and become more effective witnesses for Christ. If you find these articles and posts useful, please consider partnering with me in 2018 to continue this work that God has laid on my heart. As someone once said, the Gospel is free, but someone has to pay for the plumbing. You can become a monthly partner for just as little as $5 a month (that’s only $60 a year), the price of a gourmet cup of coffee. Special one time gifts are welcome and encouraged as well. Will you help?

Ray asks a couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses how to obtain everlasting life. Robert ends up saying, “I don’t know”. Watch as Ray shares the Gospel with this couple who are in desperate need of God’s forgiveness along with a proper understanding of the grace of God. Watch more free videos and get other resources by Ray Comfort and the Living Waters team at http://www.LivingWaters.com Look us up on social media… FACEBOOK Living Waters: https://www.facebook.com/lwwotm Ray Comfort: https://www.facebook.com/official.Ray... INSTAGRAM Living Waters: https://www.instagram.com/livingwater... TWITTER Living Waters: https://twitter.com/LivingWatersPub Ray Comfort: https://twitter.com/raycomfort

We are intellectual beings. Jesus tells us that we are to pursue God with the deepest parts of who we are, including our intellect. Jesus lived this out. If He is the Lord of our lives, this should mean patterning our lives after His in all ways. Thus, being intellectual about our faith and loving God accordingly is simply part of our discipleship

People love diversity. When it comes to music, cuisine, clothing styles, or any other aspect of culture, variety can be a beautiful thing. When it comes to the background of the New Testament canon, however, the belief in diversity is very nearly an assault on the deity of Christ and questioning the teachings of the New Testament. Diversity allows people to create the Jesus of their choosing—and reject the Jesus of Scripture.

As a result, one is left wondering if there would ever be reason to speak outside of accepted cultural values or plausibility structures in evangelism, as a way to provoke thought or arouse curiosity. For instance, I think of Paul staunchly asserting the resurrection to skeptical Sadducees and Stoics alike—people who would reject such views out-of-hand. Or I think of Jesus incisively challenging opponents for their sin and unbelief, speaking with authority and not as the scribes.

Matthew 25:25-36: For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.

“I am very surprised, and yet thrilled that Global Road Entertainment listened to the voices of concerned parents and made edits to the film,” Rapson said of the decision to make changes to the movie. “Honestly, I expected them to double down and leave the film as-is, and I greatly appreciate that they took action so quickly. I am also thankful that so many parents joined with me to use their voices to effect change for our kids.”

Answer: The word eternal means "everlasting, having no beginning and no end." Psalm 90:2 tells us about God’s eternality: “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” Since humans measure everything in time, it is very hard for us to conceive of something that had no beginning, but has always been, and will continue forever. However, the Bible does not try to prove God’s existence or His eternality, but simply begins with the statement “In the beginning God…” ( Genesis 1:1 ), indicating that at the beginning of recorded time, God was already in existence. From duration stretching backward without limit to duration stretching forward without limit, from eternal ages to eternal ages, God was and is forever.

Imagine the confusion this created, as the storms dissipated in some areas, and continued in others! Parents and students wondered exactly when school would start. Instead of providing a definite starting time for county students, the officials based the starting time on, at a minimum, two variable factors: the weather conditions at the student’s home, and each person’s idea of what it means for a storm to be “over”. This, of course, varies widely; In my opinion, a storm is “over” when it no longer poses a serious threat of damage. My aunt, who was terrified of storms, would insist that a storm isn’t “over” until the sky is clear for at least an hour!

Christians today are facing more challenges than ever. The Poached Egg exists to equip Christians to meet those challenges and be more confident in their faith and become more effective witnesses for Christ. If you find these articles and posts useful, please consider partnering with me in 2018 to continue this work that God has laid on my heart. As someone once said, the Gospel is free, but someone has to pay for the plumbing. You can become a monthly partner for just as little as $5 a month (that’s only $60 a year), the price of a gourmet cup of coffee. Special one time gifts are welcome and encouraged as well. Will you help?

Christians today are facing more challenges than ever. The Poached Egg exists to equip Christians to meet those challenges and be more confident in their faith and become more effective witnesses for Christ. If you find these articles and posts useful, please consider partnering with me in 2018 to continue this work that God has laid on my heart. As someone once said, the Gospel is free, but someone has to pay for the plumbing. You can become a monthly partner for just as little as $5 a month (that’s only $60 a year), the price of a gourmet cup of coffee. Special one time gifts are welcome and encouraged as well. Will you help?

Correct, Not Politically Correct: How Same Sex Marriage Hurts Everyone
Why not legalize same-sex marriage? Who could it possibly hurt? Using sound reasoning and evidence—not religion—award-winning author Frank Turek shows that everyone will be hurt including children, the nation, and even homosexuals themselves. Turek provides concise answers to objections about equal rights, discrimination, and being born a certain way, and he exposes the real reason gay activists are trying to impose same-sex marriage on the country without a single vote from the people. Turek’s message is direct but respectful. It is correct, not politically correct. And it is a message that we must not ignore. For details, see ImpactApologetics.com .

Stretching back to the Magna Carta, British law is strongly grounded in concepts of freedom protected from abuse by tyranny. And the British Bill of Rights in 1689 declared that members of Parliament have freedom of speech. This foundation of respect for individual rights continues to make free expression an important issue in the national culture. Other countries could learn from the British example.

Christians aren’t the only ones looking for the first “uncaused cause” of the universe. Everyone, theists and atheists alike, is looking for the cause of a universe that clearly had a beginning . If the cause of the universe was itself caused, then our search for the beginning of everything would continue, wouldn’t it? We’d be sifting through a series of previous causes toward infinity past, and we all recognize that a search of this nature is both futile and illogical. Believers, skeptics and seekers are in search of the uncaused “first cause”; some of us believe this first cause to be purely “natural’ while others believe this first cause to be supernatural.

What joy there is indeed and how great it is where there exists so great a good! . . . But surely if someone else whom you loved in every respect as yourself possessed that same blessedness, your joy would be doubled for you would rejoice as much for him as for yourself. Therefore in that perfect and pure love of the countless holy angels and holy men where no one will love another less than himself, each will rejoice for every other as for himself. If, then, the heart of man will scarcely be able to comprehend the joy that will belong to it from so great a good, how will it comprehend so many and such great joys? 6

Dublin (AFP) - Ireland voted overwhelmingly to liberalise some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe on Friday, according to exit polls in a historic referendum in the traditionally Catholic country.

When you think of scallops, you probably picture glistening white, pan-seared medallions of delicate meat resting in a pool of butter sauce. But the part of the scallop served on your plate at the seafood restaurant is only the adductor muscle that closes and opens the scallop’s shell. If you could look closely at a live scallop, you’d see its shell frilled with tentacles and a layer of flesh on the inside rim, edged with little dots—its eyes.

In this podcast, J. Warner reviews the philosophical, evidential case for life beyond the grave and then examines what the Bible has to say about Heaven and Hell. Are there any good reasons to believe in an afterlife (even without the evidence from Scripture)? What are the limits of natural revelation and logical reasoning, and what does the special revelation of the Bible tell us we should expect when we die?

"When we bust this thing open we're doing it in anticipation and we're gonna see the wealth that has been deposited inside of us begin to manifest, we're gonna see the giftings that are inside of us come alive in another way, because the Lord is calling us to unlock the next portion of wealth but we have to recognize the wealth that's in us first, so we bust this thing open and we say that there is wealth coming forth and being unlocked."

The opioid crisis in America is real. It is here, and it will be here for a long time. But the gospel is real, and the power of the living God is greater than the power of opiates. Jesus Himself said, concerning the salvation of a man caught up in the idolatry of riches: “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27). Let us pray and work and believe that prodigal sons and daughters can be restored to their families, and that one day they themselves can sing along with you: “You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. You will increase my greatness and comfort me again. . . . My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praise to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed” (Ps. 71:20–21, 23).

“Reckless Love” — the mega-hit worship song. Its lyrics have reached millions and inspired over a dozen emails our way in the last month, like this one from Tim, a regular listener to the podcast. “Pastor John, hello! Over the past couple of months, I’ve been hearing the song ‘Reckless Love’ playing in churches and on the radio. One of the main lines in the chorus celebrates ‘the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God.’ My question — is this a biblically and theologically correct way to describe God’s love? Is the term ‘reckless’ too reckless? I don’t want to sound judgmental, but every time I bring it up, I get called a Pharisee for focusing on just the one word rather than the message of the whole song. Just hoping you could shed some light because I truly believe that words matter, especially in songs of worship and praise.”

I’m just trying to imagine some of the different things that might be going on where you were thinking, “Nothing about this seems good”. I think Joseph would probably say the same thing, like nothing about this seems good. He had no idea what God had in store. I just want to encourage you and I want to pray for you and pray for all of us, that our hearts would be prepared with this truth in our hearts when we face trials. God, we confess that there are times in this world, the heaviest most painful times in particular we have in this world where we don’t understand. We don’t understand why this or that is happening. We hurt, we have questions. We’re confused. We don’t get it. Why is this happening? We look up right now as we pray and we trust that you are on your throne right now, that you are always on your throne, that you are always in control, that you are always working all things, all things together for the good of those who love you. We say we trust in you.

Paul does this in other ways as well. When he wants to show husbands how to love their wives, he points again to the death of Jesus. “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” (Ephesians 5:25) To show Christians why they should put sin to death, Paul reminds Christians of their union with Christ. (Romans 6:1-14) When he encourages Christians to forgive, he announces that God forgave them. (Ephesians 4:32)Theology is crucial to practical Christian living.

"I do not speak of such things in my daily conversation. It is truly not who I am. After lashing out with sarcasm, I realized how wrong I was and removed the post from the private Facebook group after about 90 seconds. However, someone had already taken a screen shot and posted it publicly. My sin was thus exposed on social media."